Friday, May 21, 2010

Who is Justin Bieber?

Who is Justin Bieber? The entertainment world knows him as a Canadian pop/R&B singer. His performances on YouTube were seen by Scooter Braun, who later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid.
His debut single, "One Time", was released worldwide during 2009, and charted within the top 30 in over ten countries. It was followed by his debut release, My World on November 17, 2009, which was certified platinum in the United States, which at the time gave Bieber the highest debut by a new artist in the year, and made Bieber the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. His first full studio release, My World 2.0 was released on March 23, 2010, debuting at number one and within the top ten of several countries. It was preceded by the international hit song, "Baby".

Early life

Bieber was born on March 1, 1994 in Stratford, Ontario. Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette, was 18 years old when she became pregnant with her son. Bieber was raised as an only child by Mallette, who worked low-paying office jobs, though Bieber maintains contact with his father. As he grew, Bieber taught himself to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. In late 2007, when he was twelve, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and placed second. Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and friends to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B songs, and Bieber's popularity on the site grew.
While searching for videos of a different singer, Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def, clicked on one of Bieber's videos by accident. Impressed, Braun tracked down the theater Bieber was performing in, located Bieber's school, and finally contacted Mallette. Mallette was reluctant; she remembered praying, "God, I gave him to you. You could send me a Christian man, a Christian label!" However, after praying with her church elders and receiving their encouragement, she permitted Braun to fly Bieber, then 13, to Atlanta, Georgia to record demo tapes. A week after arriving, Bieber sang for R&B singer/songwriter Usher, who arranged an audition with Antonio L.A. Reid at Island Def Jam Music Group, who in turn signed him to Island Records in October 2008. Justin Timberlake was reportedly in the running to sign Bieber, but he eventually signed with Usher. Bieber and his mother then moved to Atlanta, also the home of Usher and Braun, to base his career.

Career

Bieber's first single, "One Time", was released to radio while Bieber was still recording his debut album. The song reached number 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 during its first week of release in July 2009, and later peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. During fall 2009 it had success in international markets. The song was certified Platinum in Canada and the U.S. and Gold in Australia and New Zealand. Bieber's first album My World, was released on November 17, 2009. Three consecutive singles, "One Less Lonely Girl", "Love Me", and "Favorite Girl", were released exclusively on the iTunes store and charted within the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100. "One Less Lonely Girl" was later also released to radio and peaked within the top fifteen in Canada and the U.S., being certified Gold in the latter. My World was eventually certified Platinum in the U.S. and Canada and Silver in the UK. To promote the album, Bieber performed in several live shows such as mtvU's VMA 09 Tour, European program The Dome, YTV's The Next Star and The Today Show, The Wendy Williams Show, Lopez Tonight, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, It's On with Alexa Chung, Good Morning America, Chelsea Lately, and BET's 106 & Park with Rihanna. Bieber also guest starred in an episode of True Jackson, VP in late 2009.Bieber performed Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" for U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House for Christmas in Washington, which was broadcast on December 20, 2009 on USA television broadcaster TNT. Bieber was also one of the performers at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31, 2009. Bieber was a presenter at the 52nd Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010. He was invited to be a vocalist for the remake of We Are The World for its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti after the earthquake. Bieber sings the opening line, which was sung by Lionel Richie in the original version. On March 12, 2010, a version of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" recorded by a collective of Canadian musicians known as Young Artists for Haiti was released. Bieber is featured in the song, performing the closing lines.
"Baby", the lead single from the second half of his debut album, which features Ludacris, was released in January 2010 and became his biggest hit thus far, charting at number five in the U.S. and reaching the top ten in seven other countries. Two digital singles, "Never Let You Go", and "U Smile" were top thirty hits on the U.S. Hot 100, and top twenty hits in Canada According to review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received "generally favorable reviews". It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making Bieber the youngest solo male act to top the chart since Stevie Wonder in 1963. My World 2.0 also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, Irish Albums Chart, and Australian Albums Chart, and the New Zealand Albums Chart and reached the top ten of fifteen other countries. To promote the album, Bieber appeared on several live programs including The View, the 2010 Kids Choice Awards, Nightline, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Dome and 106 and Park. On April 10, 2010, Bieber was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
Bieber will begin recording his next album in the summer of 2010 in New York City. British singer and songwriter Taio Cruz has confirmed he is writing on Bieber's next project.
Bieber's voice is now deeper than it was when he recorded his albums because of puberty. The singer discussing his vocals remarked, "It cracks. Like every teenage boy, I'm dealing with it and I have the best vocal coach in the world. [...] Some of the notes I hit on "Baby" I can't hit anymore. We have to lower the key when I sing live."

Image

According to Jan Hoffman of The New York Times, part of Bieber's appeal stems from his YouTube channel. In contrast to singers whose careers were launched by high profile franchises like American Idol or the Disney Channel, "Justin, his fans passionately believe, is homemade. Long before he released his EP, “My World,” in mid-November, the YouTube videos attracted millions of views." Braun recognized the appeal. Prior to flying him to Atlanta, Braun wanted to "build him up more on YouTube first" and had Bieber record more home videos for the channel. "I said: ‘Justin, sing like there’s no one in the room. But let’s not use expensive cameras.’ We’ll give it to kids, let them do the work, so that they feel like it’s theirs," recalled Braun. Bieber continues to upload videos to the same channel and has opened a Twitter account, from which he interacts with fans regularly. The accounts also serve marketing purposes; for example, Bieber's music video for "One Time" only began selling quickly after it was uploaded to YouTube.
Usher comments that while he and Bieber were both signed at the same age, "I had the chance to ramp up my success, where this has happened to Bieber abruptly." As a result, Usher, Braun, Bieber's bodyguard, Kenny, and other adults surrounding Bieber constantly coach him on handling fame and his public image. After signing Bieber, Usher appointed one of his former assistants, Ryan Good, to be Bieber's road manager and stylist. Good, nicknamed Bieber's "swagger coach", helped develop Bieber's public image. Good created a "streetwise look" for the singer which consisted of baseball caps, hoodies, dog chains and flashy sneakers. Amy Kaufman of The Los Angeles Times comments, "Though a product of a middle-class suburban upbringing in Stratford, Ontario, Bieber's manner of dress and speech ("Wassup man, how you doin'?" or "It's like, you know, whateva' ") suggest he's mimicking his favorite rappers."
Bieber is often featured in teen magazines such as Tiger Beat, and has been labeled a "teen hearthrob".

Crowd control problems

Bieber's popularity has caused safety concerns. While promoting My World, Bieber was scheduled to appear at Long Island's Roosevelt Field Mall, but the performance had to be cancelled. Over 3,000 screaming fans showed up for the appearance. The event got out of control, and over 35 units from the Nassau County and Garden City police departments had to be called in. Several fans received minor injuries. The police arrested an Island Records senior vice-president, James A. Roppo, reportedly for hindering the police's crowd control efforts by not sending a timely message on Twitter as instructed by the police. James Roppo pleaded not guilty to all charges. On March 24, 2010 Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, was arrested on one count of second-degree reckless endangerment and one count of second-degree criminal nuisance related to the incident. Braun pleaded not guilty to both charges and was later released.
On April 26, 2010, a scheduled promotional performance was cancelled by Australian police after several girls were injured in a crowd crush. Bieber was scheduled to sing three songs for the Channel Seven program, Sunrise. An estimated 4,000 pre-teen girls showed up at 3:00am and stormed past safety barricades. In addition to those injured, dozens were treated for hyperventilation. In a Twitter message after the incident, Bieber said: "I want to make this clear... I don't cancel.” Bieber's tweet continued, stating: “I woke up this morning to the police canceling the show for safety reasons. I’m very happy about the welcome and the love from around the world, but I want everyone to still remember my fans safety comes first. At the end of the day I want you all to enjoy the music."
Arriving at Auckland airport in New Zealand later that day, RadioLIVE New Zealand reported on airport security's efforts to keep Bieber out of trouble. He later tweeted that somebody stole his hat and "knocked down [his] mama." The teenage girl who stole the hat then uploaded a video to the Internet, outlining the demands of her extortion attempt. The next day, she returned the hat amid speculation of possible criminal charges.

Discography

Albums

Tours

Opening act

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2009 True Jackson, VP Himself Guest star
My Date With...
2010 Silent Library
School Gyrls Cameo
Saturday Night Live Guest star/performer Ep 35.18

Awards and nominations

2010, Album of the Year, My World – Nominated
2010, Pop Album of the Year, My World – Nominated
2010, New Artist of the Year – Nominated
2010, Best New Artist - Nominated
2010, International Video of the Year, by a Canadian, "One Time" - Nominated
2010, International Video of the Year, by a Canadian, "Baby" - Nominated
2010, Ur Fave Video, "Baby" - Nominated
2010, Ur Fave New Artist, "Baby" - Nominated
Favorite International Video – "One Time" - Nominated
2010, Best International Act – Won

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Who is Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong?

Who is Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong? The music world knows her as Dido, she is a British singer-songwriter.

Following the sampling of her single "Thank You" on Eminem's 2000 hit, "Stan", Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album No Angel (1999). The album sold in excess of 21 million copies worldwide,[2] and won several awards; including the MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act, two NRJ Awards for Best New Act and Best Album, and two BRIT Awards for Best British Female and Best Album. Her following album, Life for Rent (2003), continued her mainstream success with the help of popular singles "White Flag" and "Life for Rent". The album went on to sell around 12 million copies worldwide and saw her receive more accolades; including the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year for "White Flag", two further BRIT and NRJ Awards, as well as a Grammy Award nomination. Her third and latest studio album, Safe Trip Home (2008) received critical praise to help maintain her success.


Dido was (born 25 December 1971 in London, UK) as Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong[3][4] at St. Mary Abbots hospital in Kensington, London on Christmas Day 1971.[5] Because she was born on Christmas Day, she also celebrates an "official birthday" on 25 June, following the example of Paddington Bear.[6] Her mother, Clare (née Collins), is a French poet[4] and her father, William O'Malley Armstrong, was an Irish publisher and former managing director of Sidgwick & Jackson.[7][8] Her older brother, Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong,[9] is better known as record producer Rollo part of the British electronica trio Faithless. Despite their impressive birth names, the pair were known from childhood by the names that are famous now — Dido and Rollo.[4] Dido has made it clear that "Dido" is now her real name and not simply a stage name or nickname.[1][6][10]

Dido was named after the mythical Queen of Carthage. As a child, she had to deal with the ambiguous and unusual nature of her name, which led to her being bullied[1] and even to her pretending to have an ordinary name.[4] As she explains:

Dido was educated at Thornhill Primary School in Dallington, City of London Girls' and Westminster School. After she stole a recorder from school at age five,[11] her parents enrolled her at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. By the time she reached her teens she had learned to play the piano, recorder and the violin. She later studied law at Birkbeck, University of London, while working as a literary agent. She never completed the degree, deciding instead to take up music full-time. After learning the guitar, she showcased her skills to audiences during her 2004 Life for Rent tour.

In 1995, Dido began recording demo tracks which were put together on a collection entitled Odds & Ends and sent out by Nettwerk management. Nettwerk had signed her after she was brought to their attention by her collaborations with Faithless (Dido co-wrote and provided vocals for album tracks, such as "Flowerstand Man" and "Hem of His Garment") and the UK dance act spearheaded by her brother, Rollo Armstrong. The collection was released by Nettwerk on CD-R acetate in 1995 and featured a mixture of finished productions and demo versions which she later considered for release on her debut album, released in 1999 as No Angel. Odds & Ends brought her to the attention of Arista Records, who signed her in the USA, striking a deal with her brother's record label, Cheeky Records, to co-sign her. Of the tracks included on Odds & Ends, "Take My Hand" was included on all editions of No Angel as a bonus track; "Sweet Eyed Baby" was remixed and renamed to "Don't Think of Me", while "Worthless" and "Me" were released exclusively on the Japanese edition.

Cheeky Records, to which Dido was signed, was sold to BMG records in 1999. This delayed the release of No Angel in the United Kingdom, but also allowed her to concentrate on promoting the album No Angel in the United States, including a slot on Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair tour. Through touring, both before and after the album was available, Dido's music began to receive more exposure. The first official single chosen by Dido and her label, "Here with Me", was used as the theme music for the television programme Roswell. Arguably it was this, as well as the airplay on MTV throughout Europe of the single's video, which brought her mass attention.

In 1998, the music producer for the film Sliding Doors picked her track "Thank You" for the soundtrack. No Angel was first released in 1999, and Dido toured extensively to promote the record.

Eminem helped introduce Dido to the US audience in 2000 when he sampled the first verse of "Thank You" in his UK number-one single "Stan", after seeking permission from Dido herself; she also appeared in the music video as Stan's long-suffering girlfriend. She reportedly did not want to do the video at first, as she was uncomfortable with the scene in the video where she had to be tied up and have her mouth covered with duct tape, but later agreed to it and got along well with Eminem and the crew on set. Interest soared in her debut album, leading it to hit charts in Europe on import sales alone, charting in the top five on the UK albums chart before its official UK re-release. "Thank You" was also sampled by the Airheadz in their trance track "Stanley Here I am" originally as a bootleg, but later entering the UK Top 40 in in April 2001.



Her No Angel went on to become the top-selling album of 2001 - both in the United Kingdom and worldwide,[12] debuting at, and returning to, number one in the official UK albums chart many times throughout the year. It spawned two Top Ten hit singles, "Here with Me" and "Thank You", a further Top Twenty hit, "Hunter"
Dido - Hunter
Uploaded by Hakunamatata67. - Watch more music videos, in HD!and a fourth and final single release "All You Want" which reached the top 25. It was certified platinum in over thirty-five countries, and is estimated to have sold over 21 million copies worldwide.[2] It is the second biggest selling album of the 21st century in the UK. Dido's widely emulated hairstyle at this time became known as the "Dido flip". Her sold-out worldwide tour featured hip-hop artist Pete Miser as her live band's DJ. After the tour, in 2002, Dido took a sabbatical, and began to write and record her second album.


Life for Rent was released on 29 September 2003 (world), 30 September 2003 (USA & Canada) and became one of the fastest selling albums in UK music history, debuting at number one in the UK, Ireland, France, Denmark, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia, Greece, Mexico, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, the USA, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria and many more. Preceded by the hit single "White Flag", the music video for which features Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Bones star David Boreanaz, the album sold over 152,000 copies in the first day alone in the UK, and went on to sell over 400,000 in the first week. Three further singles—"Life for Rent", "Don't Leave Home" and "Sand in My Shoes"—were lifted from the album, with Dido embarking on a worldwide tour in support of the album (a DVD of footage from the tour was released in 2005 entitled Live at Brixton Academy). It is the 4th biggest selling album of the 21st century in the UK.

Dido performing with Youssou N'Dour in Hyde Park, London.

Following her sold-out world tour of 2004, Dido was asked to perform at three of the Live 8 concerts on 2 July 2005—performing in London, then at the Eden Project in Cornwall, before flying over to Paris, performing both solo ("White Flag") and duetting with Youssou N'Dour ("Thank You" and "Seven Seconds").

Also in 2005, Dido provided vocals for her brother's side project Dusted on the album Safe from Harm. She sings on the tracks: "Time Takes Time", "Hurt U" and "Winter" and she co-wrote three tracks on the album: "Always Remember to Respect & Honour Your Mother, Part 1", "The Biggest Fool in the World" and "Winter".

Dido started working on her third album in October 2005 in Los Angeles. The album was produced by Jon Brion and Dido herself. Collaborators include Brian Eno, Questlove, Mick Fleetwood, Rollo Armstrong and Matt Chamberlain. Recording sessions were held at London's Abbey Road and at Jon Brion's home studio in Los Angeles.

Dido's official website was relaunched to coincide with the release of the album. The release of the album was postponed several times, though no official reason was ever given for this. The first single from the album, "Don't Believe in Love" leaked to the Internet on 5 September 2008 and was made available digitally on 27 October 2008. The full album was leaked to the internet on the 1st November, 2008, some 16 days before its official launch date. On 13 November 2008, the full album was available for a world premier listening at iLike.[13]


On 22 August 2008, Dido's official website confirmed that the album was to be entitled Safe Trip Home, with the official release date of 17 November 2008. A free song from the album, "Look No Further" was made available to download from the site for a limited time. Other songs included on the album are: "It Comes And It Goes", "The Day Before the Day", "Never Want To Say It's Love" and "Grafton Street". The latter was composed in collaboration with Brian Eno.[14] The album cover features a photograph of astronaut Bruce McCandless II during a spacewalk, as part of space shuttle mission STS-41-B.

I recorded my vocals next to the hoover in Jon’s broom cupboard. It was so small, there wasn’t even room for a guitar: I got quite addicted to singing in there.

—Dido, Interview in Q magazine.[14]

In December 2008, Dido's song "Let’s Do The Things We Normally Do", was criticised by Gregory Campbell, MP for East Londonderry and Minister for Sports, Arts and Leisure for Northern Ireland, for referencing lyrics from a song, "The Men Behind the Wire” which was written in the aftermath of the introduction of detention without trial for persons accused of being members of paramilitary groups. Campbell described "The Men Behind the Wire" as "written about people who were murderers, arsonists and terrorists". Campbell suggested "she [Dido] should clarify her position so that her fans and the wider public knows where she stands on these things".[15] The album failed to sell as well as her previous efforts. The album is nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.[16]

A.R. Rahman is rumored to be collaborating with Dido on her new album.[19] [20]

In addition to her solo work, Dido has co-written and provided vocals for tracks with Faithless, including "One Step Too Far"—which was released in the UK as a limited edition single, where it debuted at number six—and "No Roots", the title track of the fourth Faithless album. Rollo—Dido's brother—co-writes and co-produces much of Dido's solo material, including many tracks on No Angel and Life for Rent.

She provided guest vocals for each of the six studio albums by Faithless, from 1996's Reverence to 2010's The Dance. Dido worked with her brother on a CD to accompany the children's book he wrote with Jason White, Safe from Harm; the CD is also titled Safe from Harm and the artist is listed as "Dusted". She co-wrote Britney Spears's worldwide number one hit "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", soundtrack feature track to Spears's first major film debut.

In 2006 she re-released the song "Christmas Day", although it failed to chart in the UK. This had appeared originally on a 2001 EP of "All You Want" (a song from No Angel).

Dido has provided guest vocals to tracks by other artists including "Feels like Fire" for Carlos Santana's 2002 album, Shaman, and a duet with Rufus Wainwright entitled "I Eat Dinner (When the Hunger's Gone)" for the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason film soundtrack. Dido also sang vocals for Eminem in the cut "Stan". A sample of the Dido track "Do you have a little time" is used on the song "Don't you trust me" by Tupac, on the album "Loyal to the Game", which was almost entirely produced by Eminem in 2004.

Annie Lennox has joined forces with Dido and 22 other female artists[21] to raise awareness of the issue of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to unborn children in Africa. The single "Sing" was released on World Aids Day on 1 December 2007, in conjunction with Annie Lennox's appearance at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in South Africa.

Dido's new song, "Everything To Lose", is being featured in the 'Sex And the City 2' soundtrack. The movie hits theaters on May 27. The song was written by Dido in her country house where she is recording her fourth album, which will have an electronic approach. [22] The single leaked on the Internet some days before the official release of the movie on May 9 on Dido's Youtube official channel [23] and on Dido's official website. [24]

This year Dido is also featured in the songs 'North Star' and 'Feelin Good' included in 'The Dance', the new album by Faithless.[25]




Personal life

Upon the release of No Angel in 1999, after a long time promoting the album, Dido broke up with her fiancé, entertainment lawyer Bob Page, after a seven-year relationship.[26] While she has described her departure from him as her becoming "a free agent in every sense", the two remain friends. A few songs on her No Angel album were written with him in mind ("Thank You" was written as a tribute to him), and she thanked him publicly upon winning the Songwriter of the Year award at the Ivor Novello Awards, adding, "The song 'Thank You' still sums up that relationship. Being single might make my album more psycho this time". Dido is a keen Arsenal F.C fan and regularly attended matches with her father as a child. [30] Dido briefly dated Sol Campbell who played for the club at the time. [31] [32]

Awards



Discography

  • No Angel (1999)









  • Life for Rent (2003)











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